1 of 3 Interview Tips to help companies HIRE RIGHT the First Time: PART 1

Dear Hiring Manager,

Let’s set the stage here: It’s Monday morning 9am, you open your inbox and there you have 87 unread emails, and add to that a stack of 29 resumes on your desk to review for a position that you’ve been trying to fill for 3 weeks now.

YOU KNOW WHAT YOU SHOULD DO FIRST: Sift through the stack of resumes, after all your team told you last Friday they are swamped and can’t keep up right now being short-staffed. INSTEAD: You do what is more immediately rewarding, you work down your 87 unread emails to a good 50 count. Yipee! BUT WAIT: Now you have 4 back to back meetings, and you find yourself at 5:30pm trying to rush out to get to your kid’s sports game and shoot, you haven’t even looked at the resumes yet. So you grab the stack of resumes as you head out of the office and vow to review them tonight!

But let’s be honest, and fast forward 4 days and you finally have made the time.

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU REVIEW THE RESUMES?

  • You spend maybe 30 seconds per resume
  • Review their years of experience
  • Look for keywords you recognize
  • Consider job titles they have held that you think are relevant

While the qualifications, skills and experience a candidate HAS are important aspects to consider when reviewing resumes, when it comes to interviewing, we want you to use our TIP #1.

INTERVIEW TIP #1: THROW OUT THE RESUME.

Well, not literally. What we mean is don’t allow a candidate’s resume to guide the conversation, because who writes the resume? The candidate! “Throw out the resume” when you are asking your interview questions and use your job description to guide you, not what they decide to share or not share in their resume.

Come up with a list of what success looks like in your role.

What does someone have to DO to be successful at different milestones at your company and in your culture, and ask questions based on that criteria. Even if a candidate did great things at a previous company, that doesn’t mean that they will be successful doing the same thing at your company where the culture, expectations and management style might be completely different.

How much do you rely on a candidate’s resume in an interview?

COMING SOON: Next month PART 2, TIP #2: Stop Bias!